University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia
Tar Heels Open Campaign Against National Power Georgia
October 7, 2016 | Swimming & Diving
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina kicked off the 2016-17 dual meet season on Friday afternoon, taking on national powerhouse Georgia in Koury Natatorium. The Bulldogs swept the Tar Heels, defeating the women, 179-119, and the Tar Heel men fell, 162.5-132.5. The meet was highlighted by standout performances by the men's and women's divers, and winning swims by Craig Emslie, Jorden Merrilees, Hellen Moffitt and Caroline Baldwin.
“I think the takeaway is what we saw and what we competed against. We competed against a national championship winning women's team and a Top 5 men's program. Clearly we have some work to do to get to that level. But overall hats off to them,” said UNC head coach Rich DeSelm. “If you're an observer of the sport you are going to see what champions do. And there are some Olympians on that team, some Olympic medalists, and I think it is good that we can race against them and really learn from them.”
The matchup proved to be an early test of conditioning for the Tar Heels, as the Georgia women captured their seventh national title in 2016, while the men's team placed fifth at the NCAA Championships.
The UNC men placed first in five events, while the women's team earned the top spot in four events.
The women's team began the home opener with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, clocking in at 1:40.39. Georgia's Chantal Van Landeghem narrowly outtouched Sarah Hitchens to take first place for the Bulldogs. UNC capped off the meet by winning the 400-yard medley in a time of 3:24.14 with Baldwin, Hitchens, Moffitt and Brooke Bauer swimming for North Carolina.
Moffitt, a captain of this year's squad, got off to a fantastic senior campaign, as she notched a pair of Top 2 finishes for the Tar Heels. Moffitt earned a first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.08. She also notched a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 53.13 for UNC.
Baldwin was also a tremendous force in the pool for UNC, taking first place in the 50-yard freestyle (22.73) for the Tar Heels and placing fourth in the 100-yard free (51.05). Baldwin also was a key for the Tar Heels' success in the relays, leading off both the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Junior diver Elissa Dawson had a fantastic start to the season on the boards for the Tar Heels, taking first place in both the one and three-meter diving competitions. She finished first in both events with scores of 304.95 and 352.05, respectively. Maria Lohman finished second in the one-meter diving competition for North Carolina with a score of 300.23.
On the men's side, North Carolina began the competition with a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The Tar Heels clocked in at 1:32.11 with Heyward Harrison, Emslie, Michael Meyer and Greg Brocato swimming for the Tar Heels. The Tar Heel men concluded the meet with a first place finish in the 400-yard medley relay, touching the wall at 3:00.71. That relay include Merrilees, Emslie, Philip Perdue and Lucas Popp.
Sean Burston finished first in the one-meter diving competition for the Tar Heels, with a score of 361.05. Jack Nyquist posted a score of 343.05 to capture second place. On the three-meter boards, Nyquist took the top place for North Carolina with a score of 416.33.
Junior transfer Emslie got off to a fast start in his debut in the pool as a Tar Heel, earning first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.58. Merrilees also had a successful first meet for UNC, placing first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:29.35) and second in the 200-yard free (1:37.15). Emslie is a transfer from Indian River State College in Florida while Merrilees is transfer from Oakland University.
“It was good day to be a Tar Heel as this was my first meet,” says Merrilees. “Coach (DeSelm) talked a lot about culture before the meet today and I think that means bringing a lot of energy into our training which will then carry over to our meets like it did today.”
“Moving forward we are going to race tomorrow in practice. We are going to clean up the splits, the relay turnarounds, and just see where we are as a group. They are going to come in this weekend and work,” says DeSelm.
North Carolina will return to the pool on Friday, Oct. 21-22, as the Tar Heels travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the nationally-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in a two-day dual meet. Competition will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and resume on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
MEN'S TEAM SCORE
Georgia 162.50, North Carolina 132.50
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORE
Georgia 179, North Carolina 119
TOP CAROLINA FINISHERS IN EACH EVENT--MEN
200-Yard Medley Relay: North Carolina (Heyward Harrison, Craig Emslie, Michael Meyer & Greg Brocato), 3rd place, 1:32.11
1000-Yard Freestyle: Eugene Tee, 3rd place, 9:23.85
200-Yard Freestyle: Jorden Merrilees, 2nd place, 1:37.15
100-Yard Backstroke: Heyward Harrison, 3rd place, 50.99
100-Yard Breaststroke: Craig Emslie, 1st place, 55.85
200-Yard Butterfly: Michael Meyer, 3rd place, 1:50.90
50-Yard Freestyle: Lucas Popp, 2nd place, 21.13
One-Meter Diving: Sean Burston, 1st place, 361.05
100-Yard Freestyle: Lucas Popp, 3rd place, 45.71
200-Yard Backstroke: Michael Meyer, 2nd place, 1:48.50
200-Yard Breaststroke: Michael McBryan, 3rd place, 2:04.86
500-Yd. Freestyle: Jorden Merrilees, 1st place, 4:29.35
100-Yd. Butterfly: Christian Caveness, 3rd place, 50.56
Three-Meter Diving: Jack Nyquist, 1st place, 416.33
200-Yard Individual Medley: Michael Meyer, 1st place; 1:50.38*
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: North Carolina (Jorden Merrilees, Craig Emslie, Philip Perdue & Lucas Popp), 1st place, 3:00.71
*Georgia swam exhibition in this event
Records: North Carolina 0-1, Georgia 1-0
TOP CAROLINA FINISHERS IN EACH EVENT—WOMEN
200-Yard Medley Relay: North Carolina (Caroline Baldwin, Katie Munch, Hellen Moffitt & Sarah Hitchens), 2nd place, 1:40.39
1000-Yard Freestyle: Natalie Ward, 4th place, 10:11.15
200-Yard Freestyle: Robyn Dryer, 5th place, 1:52.04
100-Yard Backstroke: Hellen Moffitt, 1st place, 53.08
100-Yard Breaststroke: Abby Fisher, 2nd place, 1:05.08
200-Yard Butterfly: Sarah Koucheki, 2nd place, 1:59.25
50-Yard Freestyle: Caroline Baldwin, 1st place, 22.73
Three-Meter Diving: Elissa Dawson, 1st place, 352.05
100-Yard Freestyle: Caroline Baldwin, 4th place, 51.05
200-Yard Backstroke: Susanna LaRochelle, 3rd place, 2:02.18
200-Yard Breaststroke: Abby Fisher, 2nd place, 2:19.53
500-Yd. Freestyle: Natalie Ward, 5th place, 5:01.02
100-Yd. Butterfly: Hellen Moffitt, 2nd place, 53.13
One-Meter Diving: Elissa Dawson, 1st place, 304.95
200-Yard Individual Medley: Susanna LaRochelle, 5th place, 2:07.03
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: North Carolina (Caroline Baldwin, Sarah Hitchens, Hellen Moffitt & Brooke Bauer), 1st place, 3:24.14
Records: North Carolina 1-0, Georgia 0-1
COMMENTS FROM SENIOR JORDEN MERRILEES
“It was good to be a Tar Heel today, as this was my first meet.”
“It was great to win my last two events, as it boosted my confidence. I think it will fuel me in training and as the season goes on.”
“Coach (DeSelm) talked a lot about culture before the meet today, and I think that means bringing a lot of energy into our training which will then carry over to our meets.”
“We have another two weeks of hard training before we travel to Tennessee. It is all going to be about the little things, especially getting those turns right, and not overthinking things.”
COMMENTS FROM UNC HEAD COACH RICH DeSELM
“I think the takeaway is what we saw a great team today and we competed hard against Georgia. We competed against a national championship winning women's team and a top five men's program. Clearly we have some work to do to get to that level. But overall hats off to them.”
“If you're an observer of the sport you are going to see what champions do. And there are some Olympians on that team, some Olympic Medalists as well, and I think it is good that we can race against them and really learn from them.”
“Moving forward we are going to race tomorrow in practice. We are going to clean up the splits, the relay turnarounds, and just see where we are as a group. They are going to come in this weekend and work.”
“On the women's side, Hellen Moffitt impressed me. Those two swims as she won the 100 back and got second in the fly, 53.0 is pretty fast for the first meet. Caroline Baldwin was very competitive in every event. The 50 Freestyle was an impressive win.”
“We had some freshman, who even though they were in their first college dual meet, they were racing really hard.”
Players Mentioned
